Fighter
by Jody14
Summary: Pein and Naruto live a normal life as a master and a pet. They meet their perfect match in the garden they visit for a walk. After wandering away, Naruto gets attacked by two dogs. There's more to their master than it seems. PeinNaru NaruHina PeinKonan


_**A.N.:**_ Yet _**another **_Pein & NekoNaru fic, this time with PeinKonan and NaruHina. Also Madara has to be there, because I need an evil mastermind, who always makes bad things happen (that spot used to be taken by Pein, but since I know him waaay better than I did back then, I'm handing the evil-guy's throne over to Madara-Hanzo-Danzo trio...). Also this time I want Naruto to behave as a fox, just think of him as Pein's puppy. Imagine him running around on all fours and wearing a collar.

Watch out, major Madara cruelty ahead...

Anyways, enjoy. This story is dedicated to all Naruto-with-cute-neko-fox-ears-fans.

_Jody14Sunshine_

_**Spotlight**__**s and Shadows of the Arena**_

Naruto yawned, stretched out in his basket and shook his head. Sun rays were falling through the opened window, and bright sparkles were dancing around all over his cheeks. He had to close his eyes again, to get used to the bright world outside.

He shook his head again, blinked and lowered a pair of soft fox ears, sticking through his bright blonde hair.

He lifted his head and glanced to the bed next to him.

Pein was still asleep.

Naruto's ears lifted, lowered, lifted and lowered again when he glanced to the digital clock on the shelf above Pein's bed.

Seven in the morning.

He'll be late. Again.

He jumped on the bed, gently bit the blanket and pulled. It slipped off Pein's body. Pein shivered, frowned and curled into a ball due to the sudden cold.

Naruto silently squealed. He gently licked Pein's cheek and nudged his chin with his nose.

'_Come on, wake up...' _

Pein sighed.

'_You'll be late again...'_

Pein silently muttered something under his breath and rubbed his eyes. His purple eyes slowly turned to Naruto's blue ones.

"What do you want, Naruto?"

Naruto squealed, bit his sleeve and tried to drag him up.

"You want me to get up? Why?"

Naruto's eyes glanced to the digital watch again, and Pein's eyes followed Naruto's worried gaze. The numbers on the watch were now saying that the time is ten past seven.

Pein giggled.

"Dummy. It's Saturday. I don't have to go to school today."

Naruto sat down and purred in apology. He had forgotten it was Saturday already.

"Well, that doesn't mean we can't sleep a while longer, right?"

Pein leaned his head back to the pillow and little fox hybrid curled into a ball right next to him. Pein smiled and gently stroked boy's blonde hair.

He knew Naruto for such a long time now, at least that's what he thought. About ten years ago Pein found him as a cub, completely lost, worn out, starved and cold in front of his back door. Pein took him in and did his best to take care of the little hybrid, until he got all of his strenght back. Pein didn't know how on Earth did a little boy he named Naruto turn out like that, but the little hybrid kept more fox characteristics than human ones, along with his ears and tail. Besides that, he was pretty kind and playful. He trusted Pein from the begining, and since then they've never been apart.

Through years, by growing up together as two orphans, they learned a lot about each other. Naruto noticed Pein's problem of being late to school, so he became his living alarm clock. He kept poking at him, until Pein woke up and ran off to school. Pein had to admit, that his grades turned out much better the day Naruto started living with him. Almost as fast as Naruto noticed Pein's problem of sleeping in, Pein noticed the hybrid's incredible inteligence. He was still just a fox, a young fox, but Pein could have sworn Naruto was capable of human thinking. Sometimes he was wondering wether Naruto knew how to talk or not. If he did, he didn't want to show it.

This Saturday morning they slept untill nine'o'clock. At that time, they usually went for a walk to the nearby garden. Pein found it about three years ago, and that solved their problem of Naruto's appearance – Pein really didn't want for some research team to find out about him having a hybrid, they'd come right over and take Naruto away for some research purposes. And he bet it would be a long and painful research. The little garden was completely deserted, and this way Naruto was able to run around freely and wherever he wanted to, as long as he kept inside the limits of the was a perfect place, just for the two of them. Sometimes Pein took a disc with him, and threw it to Naruto from time to time. That's how they played together, day by day.

But today was different.

Their little garden wasn't that empty anymore.

There were to girls sitting on the grass.

Well, one and a half. The second girl had soft white bunny ears sticking out of her head, and a puffy bunny tail.

Naruto was the first to reach the garden. He started to race around both girls in circles, kept barking and wagging his tail. Little bunny hybrid squealed in fear and shyly cuddled closer to her human friend. Blue-haired girl giggled.

"It's okay, Hinata. He only wants to play. See?"

She caught Naruto's collar, gently flipped him on his back and tickled him. The fox hybrid giggled, bounced on all fours again, bit the girl's sleeve and tugged on it.

"Naruto, let go!"

All three lifted their heads. Pein was standing in front of the portal that led into the garden, and he didn't seem amused by Naruto's actions. Naruto lowered his ears in shame and hid behind the human girl's legs.

"Get back here, or I'm going back home and getting a leash."

Pein frowned. Naruto growled and walked back to him. Pein laughed and gently ruffled his hair.

"Good boy..."

Naruto lifted his ears again and stuck his tongue out. Pein couldn't help himself. After seeing Naruto's wide grin, he just had to laugh.

"Is he yours?"

Blue-haired girl slowly approached them. Bunny hybrid was hiding behind her.

"Yeah, he is. Don't worry, he won't hurt anybody. He's just playful, that's all."

Pein smiled, while he watched Naruto race across the field and chase butterflies.

"We haven't met before, have we?"

"Nope, we haven't. I'm Pein."

"My name's Konan."

"It's nice to meet you, Konan. Who's the bunny? Is she yours too?"

"Yeah. Her name's Hinata. I never thought I'm going to see another hybrid in this town. She's really shy, but also really gentle and sweet, once you get to know her better."

"Naruto isn't what he looks like either."

Pein grinned.

"He looks wild at first, but he's also really caring. Sometimes, when I don't get back home from school on time, he's always waiting for me at the front door. Guess he's worried about me. And sometimes, when I'm late for school he wakes me up."

"Really?"

Konan giggled.

"Are you often late for school?"

"Depends. Do you always come here? I thought me and Naruto were the only ones who knew about this garden."

"I just found it recently. It's a nice place for Hinata, since she likes to be outside, and with her looks it's not really safe to let her out in the middle of the town."

"I know what you mean..."

Pein smiled.

"So I guess we'll be seeing each other again, huh?"

"I'm sure we will."

In that moment Naruto stopped running around and stopped in front of Hinata. They were staring at each other for a while. All of the sudden, Naruto licked her cheek and ran off again. Hinata blushed like a tomato and burried her face in Konan's jeans.

"... besides that, I think Naruto likes Hinata."

Pein shrugged.

"By the looks of it, it works vice versa too. But she's just too shy to show him."

"She only needs time, Konan."

"Yeah, guess so."

Pein lifted his head. All of the sudden the little grass field seemed quiet.

Too quiet, to be good.

"Naruto?"

The fox didn't give a sound. Pein's eyes slowly scanned the field. Naruto was nowhere to be seen.

"Naruto?"

His heart started bumping faster.

It just can't be possible. It's impossible, that he could lost the hybrid, after he hasn't ran away once in all ten years of them living together.

"Wait, I'll help you find him."

Konan followed Pein and together they crossed the field to see if Naruto was somewhere on the other side. They kept calling for him, but they got no response at all.

"It's just impossible..."

Pein could feel tears forming in his eyes.

"It's plain impossible... I won't accept that he's ran away... I _don't want_ to accept him runing away!"

"He didn't run away, Pein, probably he just wandered off to somewhere. Calm down, we'll find him."

Konan stopped and thought for a while.

"Where have you seen him last?"

"He was somewhere there, next to the forest..."

Pein pointed to the part, where field started to turn into a forest.

"So we're going there to find him. Let's go."

Konan gently pulled his sleeve and they walked through the trees, to find Pein's lost little fox.

* * *

Naruto curiously sniffed the ground. He thought he had caught a scent of some other human back then. It clearly wasn't Pein's scent. Not Konan's either. He got used to her really fast, she smelled like strawberries. This scent was different. Evil. It smelled like blood. Naruto swirled his ears back and forth.

Should he keep following it, or not?

He thought he heard the dog barking. It was coming closer. _Clearly_ a dog barking. His ears dropped down and he dashed back towards the little field. He ran, to save his skin. Meeting up with hounds would be a bad idea, especially since he had a fox scent all over him. Just a few moments later a black, bear-sized dog blocked his path. He growled and showed his teeth. Naruto's ears slowly flattened closer to his head. He didn't want to provoke the mutt. He slowly bent his tail and started to back away. He soon found himself between the paws of the second dog. The mutt barked, and bit in his direction. Naruto squealed and rushed off, before the dog could even touch him. When he ran past the first dog he had to jump aside, and the dog's jaws barely missed his neck.

Naruto had to run. He dashed over the roots and through the bushes. He had to find Pein. He was the only one, that could save him right now.

The dogs were gaining on on him. Naruto looked back. They were getting closer and closer, they were right behind his feet...

His left wrist got caught into the vines and he tripped. He rolled over the roots and rocks, and when he finally stopped, he almost reached the field. He shook his head. He heard voices.

"Naruto!"

"Naruto, where are you?"

Naruto slowly got up on all fours. It was them. Konan and Pein. He gasped to bark, when one of the two huge dogs slammed into his side and they both rolled across the rocks and landed in the grass on the edge of the grass field. The dog's fangs mercilessly caught Naruto's neck and pinned his head to the ground. Naruto whined and tried to pull his head from the hold of dog's jaws. Before he knew it, the second dog reached them, flipped him to the side and pinned his body down, so he couldn't resist anymore.

"Naruto?"

Naruto took a breath and barked. It took him all the strenght he had left. Guess all this dog racket reached Pein. It really did. Just half a minute later, Pein showed up from behind the trees on their left.

"Oh no..."

He burried his face in his hands, when he saw two huge dogs sinking their teeth into his little hybrid and kept him pinned to the ground, completely powerless. Pein didn't dare to throw a rock. He could easily hit Naruto. He couldn't kick the dogs away either, Naruto could easily find himself in their place. All he could do was just stand there and helplessly watch the dogs tearing his little Naruto apart.

"Thunder, Lightning, enough!"

Pein turned his head. He didn't even notice, but when he was thinking of what to do a man showed up from behind the trees. The dogs growled for the last time and let go of Naruto. They slowly walked back to their master.

"Go get him."

Pein barely realized the cold words were meant for him. He was already kneeling down next to his unconscious little fox. Naruto's ears were torn and he was pressing them close to his head. His eyes were closed and his body covered with bruises and wounds. Pein gently pulled him in his lap and sobbed.

"Not much of an owner, are you, kid... you shouldn't let him wander around like this."

Pein pulled Naruto closer. His sorrow was replaced by anger.

"Like you're the one to talk... you're the one who should keep your mutts on leashes, heck, I wonder why the hell you don't make them wear a muzzle! And yet, you're satnding there and telling me that this is all _my_ fault?"

The male sighed and walked over to them.

"Show him to me..."

By now, Konan reached them. She gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. Hinata, who was still following her sobbed and burried her face into her jacket, to hide her tears. Pein was hesitating at first, but at the end he carefully laid Naruto back to the ground. He didn't like this guy, and it was not just the fact that his dogs almost tore Naruto apart. His eyes and voice were so cold. He didn't trust him.

The man's eyes scanned Naruto's motionless body. Pein shivered, when he noticed the look in his eyes.

"Not really a fighter, is he?"

"You're insane, aren't you?"

Pein jumped on his feet.

"Dammit, they were about to _tear him apart limb by limb_! I can see where your mutts get their insanity from at least!"

"Hey, don't jump to conclusions, kid."

Male turned his red eyes back to him.

"He is in a bad shape, but he's still alive. You can still save him, if you do exactly as I say. What he needs is disinfectant and hot compresses. Lots of hot compresses, okay? If he doesn't get up in two days, he's done for and you can kiss him goodbye."

"Ant that's all you've got to say? If he doesn't get up in two days you'll never see him again? You're not helping me here!"

"Listen, kiddo, Thunder and Lightning are _hounds_. What does that tell you? They're hunters, we come to this forest often and your _fox_, if that's what we can call him..." the male's eyes scanned Naruto's body again. "...well, he just found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. They followed their instincts. You're the one who should have kept an eye on him. Him running away from you is not my problem."

The man stood up and turned away from Pein. He was about to leave. The dogs followed him.

"Instead of sitting here and whining over what happened, you really should take him home. He needs medical attention. And soon, or it just might be too late."

Pein pulled Naruto's motionless body closer and watched the man leave.

"What are we going to do, Pein?"

Konan kneeled down next to him. Her hand gently wrapped around his left wrist.

"There's nothing we can do, Konan. We should do what he said, there's just nothing else we can do."

Pein's eyes remained cold and empty.

"He'll get better, you'll see..."

Konan leaned her head on Pein's shoulder.

"I'll go with you, and I'll help you take care of him if you want."

Pein sighed, stood up and lifted Naruto's body in his arms.

"Thanks... it means a lot..."

They left the garden together. They didn't notice the man leaning on the tree, hiding in the shadows and patting the head of one of his huge dogs.

"I think we found a pretty talented one, huh? If he only was as cruel as you two are. Don't worry, Pein. I always get what I want, you'll see."

* * *

Pein didn't move from Naruto's side whole night. He didn't sleep either. Hybrid's breathing was shallow, and his eyes were still tightly closed. Pein did just what that guy told him to do, he kept gently cleaning Naruto's wounds with warm water. The fox hybrid twitched his ears from time to time, but otherwise he didn't give a sign of consciousness.

By the next day, his state was even worse than before. His breathing was becoming heavy. For the rest of the Sunday, Pein didn't move an inch, he was sitting in his bed, leaning to the wall with his back and gently cuddled Naruto in his lap, still hoping that Naruto might get better after all. Hot compresses didn't do him much good, and by the end of the day, Pein silently cried himself to sleep.

Next morning, he was awaken by the warm wet tongue stroking his cheek. He moaned, lifted his head an opened his eyes. Naruto lifted his head off the pillow, just enough so he could reach him with his tongue. He kept gently licking Pein's cheek. His eyes were barely half opened, yet they seemed as if they were smiling for some reason.

Pein laughed in relief. Before he knew it, he was laughing his head off, and couldn't stop, even though there was nothing funny about this situation. Konan walked through the door, yawning and rubbing her eyes. She slept through the night on the sofa in Pein's living room.

"Dammit, Pein, what the hell are you... Hey, Naruto!"

She ran to Pein, who was now leaning his head on Naruto's and sobbing in relief.

"I can't believe it... dammit Naruto, don't ever scare me like this again!"

Naruto licked Pein's cheek again and leaned his head back to the pillow. He let Konan and Pein cuddle him. He really enjoyed their attention.

Just a few days later, Naruto was back on his feet. His wounds weren't completely healed yet, but that surely didn't keep him from running around the field him and Pein visited every day to meet up with Konan and Hinata.

Naruto decided it would be a good idea to stay inside the border of the field. He was usually dancing in circles around Hinata, trying to make her play with him. The bunny merely blushed everytime he did that and burried her face into her hands. Everytime she did that, Naruto surprised her by gently tugging on her ear. Hinata's blush turned to even deeper shade of red and Pein gently smacked him and pulled him away from Hinata. Ofcourse he never hit him for real, but Naruto sulked for the rest of the day and played by tugging on his sleeve, so Pein wasn't able to talk to Konan.

Just a few days passed, but Pein and Konan were getting really close to each other. Usually they were just walking around the paths in the little garden, holding hands, while Naruto was running around and Hinata silently followed them. They usually stayed in the garden all the way, 'till the evening. Once they even stayed there at night.

That was the time Naruto made sure, that their first kiss didn't happen. He crawled in between, just when they were about to kiss, and he deserved a giggle from Konan and a few nasty curses from Pein. Before he knew it, Pein pinned him down and tickled him, until Naruto lowered his ears and begged his forgiveness.

After these long walks they returned to Pein's apartment, and they all fell asleep. Hinata and Konan included. Naruto found out the meaning of the word 'jelaousy'.Now Konan was the one to have a place next to Pein in his bed. Naruto pulled the edge of the blanket with his teeth and squealed, until Pein took pity on him and lifted him on their bed. By that time Naruto had usually awakened Hinata too, so she crawled into Konan's lap, and all four of them slept in the same bed 'till the morning.

Everything could have been like this forever. They could live like this every day and enjoy life. But life just wouldn't be what it is, if it wouldn't get complicated at some point.

So, it got complicated.

It happened on some summer night, half a year later. Pein, Konan, Hinata and Naruto were having their night time in their little garden. The night was warm and clear, their grass field was covered in magic moonlight. Konan was leaning her head on Pein's shoulder and gently stroking Hinata's hair, while bunny hybrid was asleep in her lap. Naruto stretched out from time to time and let Pein cuddle him.

All of the sudden, his ears twitched. He lifted his head.

'_Someone's there, I just know it...'_

He got up on all fours and stared into the night. Pein's fingers gently scratched him behind his ears.

"What's wrong, pal?"

Naruto kept swinging his ears back and forth and listened.

He wasn't sure what he had heard earlier.

He sat down, but his ears kept swinging back and forth and he kept staring into the same direction.

Just a minute later he bounced back on his feet and growled.

'_That sound again... what's going on?'_

" It's okay, Naruto. It's probably just a mouse, or a hedgehog... no need to panic."

Pein gently ruffled his hair. Naruto calmed down a bit and sat down again.

When he heard a rustling sound in the bushes for the third time, he couldn't hold back anymore. That scent of blood again. He barked and rushed into the forest.

"Naruto, don't! Wait up!"

Pein jumped up and followed him. Before he could reach the forest a huge black dog jumped out of the bushes and bit towards him. Pein had to move back and huge jaws missed him for just an inch. He knew that dog. It was one of those mutts that attacked Naruto three years ago. Was the other one here too... or even worse... was their owner here?

The dog growled and slowly approached him. Pein backed away and kept the distance. Soon the dog forced him back to Konan. She jumped on her feet, as soon as she noticed the dog and pulled Hinata closer.

"What the heck is this thing doing here? Isn't that dog the one who..."

"Yeah... it is..."

"What should we do, Pein?"

"I'm not sure, let's try to separate. You get out of here with Hinata and I'll go find Naruto. There's no way I'm leaving him here alone. On my mark, okay? I'll try to lead him away from you two."

"But..."

"I'll be fine, Konan, I promise."

Konan gently wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her lips on his cheek.

"Just make sure you make it out alive, Pein..."

"I will, I promise everything will be fine."

Pein turned his head back to the dog.

"On three, okay? One... two... three!"

At the same time they ran into each own's direction. Pein made sure to run close enough, so his jacket brushed the top of the dog's nose. The dog barked and followed him. At least this part was a success. Pein passed the dog and ran through the woods.

"Naruto!"

Besides the dog barking right behind him, he couldn't hear a thing.

"_Naruto!"_

No response. Pein kept running deeper into the forest, while the dog was catching up. Suddenly his heart stopped. He heard a scream. Konan's scream.

"Konan... _Konan_!"

He turned around and just for a moment he managed to get rid of the dog chasing him. When the mutt jumped to pin him to the ground and missed, his own weight send it rolling over the roots and Pein took the chance and made a run for it. He was begging to find Konan and Hinata still alive, when he reached the garden.

"Be okay, just please, be okay..."

Soon he found them. They were standing in front of the entrance to the garden. And situation just couldn't get worse. The second dog was standing in front of the entrance and cut them off their only escape route.

"Shit!"

Pein pulled Konan and Hinata behind his back. In the mean time, the dog that was chasing him reached the group, and both of them started to circle around them, growling.

"Now what?"

"I have no idea..."

The dogs kept growling and they slowly narrowed the circle. Pein was desperately trying to find any flaw in their strategy, any mistake they made, just to get Konan and Hinata out. Sadly, there were no flaws. The dogs soon forced them into the corner of the fence and the only thing Pein could do was to keep Hinata and Konan behind his back and protect them with his arm spreaded. He couldn't do much, but if they do attack, he's making sure he's the one going down first.

And then...cruel laughter.

"Easy, guys. You did a great job, but you should let me deal with this kid. We still have some unfinished bussines, don't we, Pein."

That man again. He walked out of the shadows, grinning. The same man that helped Pein save Naruto from the jaws of his own dogs three years ago.

"You know what strategy to pick, don't you Pein? You tried to get the dog's attention while the girls got away... to bad there were two dogs. If there was only one, you just might have been able to get out alive..."

The male caught Pein's chin, lifted his head and forced him to look into his crimson red eyes.

"You really aren't that kind of coward, that would run away on his own and leave his friends behind, are you? I like your way of thinking, Pein. It makes things so easy."

"Who are you and what the hell do you want?"

The man grinned.

"My name's Madara. Before you start jumping to conclusions again, let's make something clear. I don't want you, or your girlfriend, or miss bunny over there, even though she'd be worth a fortune. You don't see a hybrid every day, but right now I'm not interested in her. In fact, I'm here for your sweet little fox. Don't cause me trouble, Pein. Tell me where the little hybrid is, and I might let you leave."

"Why do you want Naruto now? You didn't care wether these two mutts tear him apart or not back then. So why would you want him so bad now?

Madara sighed.

"You're so naive, you know that? Try and think outside the box, Pein. What do you really see when you look at Thunder and Lightning? Are they really just mere hounds?"

Pein's eyes drifted to the black bear-sized dogs. When one of them passed the light of a street lamp, he gasped.

Their bodies were covered with scars. Now, when Madara pointed it out he could see them clearly under their black fur. They were growling, they were agressive, they kept showing their teeth even though no one wanted to harm them...

"Well? Already know who I really am?"

"You're in search for talents, aren't you? You want to take Naruto and get him into the dog fights, don't you?"

"Exactly. Your Naruto isn't strong, or cruel, but he has something else, that's just as important for a fighting dog. He has speed, and he's agile. Sometimes speed and agility even win over strenght. If I could only teach him how to use those to his advantage in a fight and learn him how to be cruel... then he'd make me millions. I'm asking you only once Pein. Don't cause me trouble, hand him over, and I'll leave. If you're capable of keeping it a secret."

"There's no way. I'm not giving him to you, Madara."

"Sell him, then?"

"I'm not letting you put your dirty hands on him in any way!"

Madara sighed.

"Guess there's no choice, then... I'll have to take him by force."

Madara's hand wrapped tight around Pein's wrist and he pulled him away from Konan. Before he knew it, Pein found himself on the ground with Madara's foot pushing him down.

"No, please, don't hurt him! Just let him go!"

Konan barely made one step towards them, and was already forced to back down. Thunder and Lightning growled and slowly came closer.

"Like I said, Pein. I'll ask only once. Hand over the fox, and no one gets hurt. If you keep being stubborn, I'll order Thunder and Lightning to tear your girlfriend and bunny to pieces. Well, what's it gonna be?"

Pein's eyes searched for Konan's. He didn't know what to do. He loved her. At the same time, he still unconditionally loved Naruto. How the hell was Madara expecting him to choose one of his loved ones over another?

"I'm giving you five more seconds, Pein."

Something rustled in the nearby bushes.

"Come on, hurry up, time's running out... three... two... one..."

Something jumped out of the bushes and tackled Madara forcefully enough to make him lose his balance and forced him to move his foot off Pein's back. Pein pulled himself up. Naruto was standing in front of him and growling at Madara.

"Well, well, little hybrid himself."

Madara snapped his fingers and Lightning walked over to him, while Thunder was still making sure Konan or Hinata didn't move.

"If you want to protect him that badly, then let's fight. Show me what you're capable of. Get him, Lightning."

The dog barked and bounced towards Naruto. The fox hybrid growled and moved aside. He sank his teeth in Lightning's front leg and bounced away, when the dog was about to sink his own into his neck. Pein could only sit on the ground and watch the cruel play. The dog was strong. Naruto was fast. Just like Madara said, on rare occasions speed and agility can win over strenght and cruelty. Both, Naruto and Lightning were at about the same level, only one mistake and either could lose.

Naruto was the one to make a mistake.

Just once, he didn't move fast enough. The dog's teeth clenched, caught his neck and wouldn't let him go. Lightning pushed the little fox to the ground, flipped him on his back and sank his teeth into the hybrid's throat. Naruto powerlessly kicked and tried to break free, but the dog was easily holding him down.

"No...please... don't!"

Pein jumped on his feet. Before he could make a step Madara caught his wrists and pulled them on his back.

"You know... I've been thinking..."

Madara watched Pein trying to break his arms free. He really was making things so easy. Madara grinned.

"...and I think you aren't the type to just stand there and let me take your fox away. You'd let someone know sooner or later, so let's make sure it never happens, okay?"

He tied Pein's wrists on his back and led him to the black van, parked in front of the garden. After he pushed him in he locked the door and walked back to the group. If he could believe his expectations, he's gone through the worst part already. Pein and Naruto were the ones, who could cause him trouble. Girl and her bunny will follow anyway, if they know their loved ones were in trouble. Girls give up easily. Guys don't, especially if the girls are involved.

After he took care of Konan and Hinata he still had to deal with Naruto. Just as he thought, the hybrid still wouldn't give up and was still fighting to break free. Madara gave Lightning a sign to let him go, caught Naruto's collar and tied a rope to it. Naruto was resisting with all the force he had left, he kept pulling back, but Madara was strong enough, to drag him all the way to the van. He locked him into the back of the vehicle. Naruto silently squealed and scratched the door.

'_Pein?'_

Nothing.

'_Pein, where are you?'_

Still nothing.

He was all alone.

The ground shook under his feet.

'_Dammit, Madara, I'm not letting you take me away from him that easily...'_

Naruto growled and tackled the door. They remained closed, but the hybrid collapsed, unconscious. The ground shook again, and the van left the dark alley.

* * *

Madara blindfolded Pein and pulled him out of the van. He led him into the old forsaken building and down the stairs into the basement, until he reached a cell he had, just in case. He took off Pein's blindfold, kicked him in and locked the metal bars.

"Just be a good boy, don't cause me problems and stay where you are."

Madara grinned.

"Oh yeah, and don't worry. I'll bring your girlfriend too."

"What are you going to do to Naruto, you sick moron?"

Madara merely shrugged in response.

"Like I said, your Naruto is fast and agile, but he's not a fighter. He's not cruel enough to fight without a reason, the only reason he wanted to fight Lightning back then was to protect you. I need him to be cruel, to fight without a reason. The tournament starts three days from today, and now I have some time to kill. So to answer your question... probably I'll train him. I'll use the time to teach him cruelty."

"You can't do that..."

"Sure I can. If you think I can't, then tell me who's going to keep me from doing it?"

Pein sobbed.

"Please, don't... you'll destroy him..."

"It's none of my bussines, kid. I only want money, and like I said, Naruto's capable of bringing millions, as long as I get him ready for fighting... oh yeah, since today his name won't be Naruto either. He needs a name, that symbolizes his speed, just like names Thunder and Lightning sybolize my dog's strenght and cruelty."

Madara thought for a while. Few minutes later he grinned and whispered.

"I know. Since today, his name is Flash. A name, that shows his speed, and leaves a mark."

"His name _is not_ Flash!"

"I'm the one to decide this, Pein. There's nothing you can do about it, he doesn't belong to you anymore."

Madara turned around and left. Pein leaned his forehead to the cold metal bars, closed his eyes and let his tears fall to the cold ground. About few minutes later, Madara brought Konan and Hinata, and left. Even so, Pein didn't move for the next ten minutes. He felt Konan's fingers unbinding his wrists, but he merely left his hands fall to the ground. After he felt a gentle kiss on top of his head he finaly whispered.

"I'll never see him again, will I..."

"Ofcourse you will, sweetheart... I'm sure you will..."

Konan pulled him in her lap and let him lean his head on her chest.

"We'll figure out a way to get out of this, Pein. And when we do, we're going to find Naruto and set him free. I'll do everything I can to help you save him. He's a part of our family, and I won't quit until I bring him back to you, I know you love him. You love him just as much as I love you, and I know I wouldn't be able to take it, if ever I lost you."

Pein sobbed and wrapped his arms tight around Konan.

"I love you, Konan..."

"I know, Pein. You don't have to tell me this..."

Hinata leaned her head in Konan's lap. Her eyes were completely blank. She tried to question Pein with her gaze.

'_Is he okay? What happened, is Naruto coming back?'_

"No, sweetie, I'm sorry... Naruto's gone, he took him away..."

Hinata's eyes filled with tears. Konan pulled both of them closer. Pein gave his all to protect them from Thunder and Lightning. Now it's her turn to give her all. Now he was the one who needed protection. She wasn't afraid, she knew she could give him the comfort he needed right now. Comforting others was something, she was good at.

They silently sat in the dark and waited.

* * *

"Get up."

Naruto's eyes remained closed.

"Get up, dammit!"

A kick forced him to pick himself up. Naruto was giving his all, just to stand. He was barely carrying his weight, his whole body was shivering.

Madara's fingers snapped. Thunder and Lightning rushed towards the little hybrid. Naruto bowed his head. He didn't give a sound when both dogs sank their teeth into his body. One to his left leg, one to his neck. He let them push him back to the ground and closed his eyes again.

Madara whistled and the dogs returned to him. Naruto's eyes opened just for a little bit. Madara's eyes were giving him that contemptuous look. Ever since he started this training, the fox was doing pretty good. He could hold out for a minute or two against Thunder and Lightning, before they brought him down. But this was far from enough.

Naruto had to be capable of more. Much more.

In three days he had to defeat either one of his dogs. After that, he might be capable of defeating others. Right now, he wasn't capable of defeating anyone. He remained lying on the ground, completely worn out. His body was covered with new wounds and bruises. When Madara slowly approached him, fox's ears remained pointed towards the ground, and his breathing was still shallow and laboured.

"Get up, Flash..."

Fox's eyes opened. They scanned Madara with that cold gaze, filled with hatred and closed again. He wouldn't fight anymore. Madara pulled out a whip. The first blow made Naruto curl into a ball in pain. At the second one, he merely twitched his ears. He wasn't crying or squealing. He kept his eyes closed and silently counted the times whip crossed his body. Between ten and twenty he lost the count. Between twenty and thirty he passed out. He didn't know, wether Madara stopped with fourty or fifty. Maybe even sixty.

Madara's cold eyes scanned Naruto's motionless unconscious body on the ground. Besides the wounds and teeth marks his dogs left, there were also clearly visible whip marks by now. He turned away from the fox and left him lying on the ground in the middle of the ring, barely alive.

Naruto's ears weakly twitched two or three hours later. He slowly dragged himself on his feet, with his head and tail down wandered to the border of the ring, laid down next to the fence and remained lying there. His empty dim blue eyes stared through the cold, dark room. He laid his head on his hands.

'_It hurts... it hurts so much...'_

Ever since Madara started training him, Naruto stopped resisting. In the first hour he kept growling at him. Probably he'd bite too, if Thunder and Lightning wouldn't keep him from doing so.

In the first half of the second hour his ears and head obediently lowered everytime he heard Madara's voice.

By the end of the second hour, his spirit was already completely broken.

He started licking his wounds. He kept it up for a minute, minute and a half at best and quit, just so he could lay his head down again and fall asleep, completely exausted.

'_How was it back then, when... when...'_

He couldn't even remember anymore. Only feelings left in him were pain and helplessness.

He hated Madara so much...

He hated him from the dephts of his heart...

'_I hate him...'_

His eyes slowly opened again. They were filled with anger and hatred.

'_Hate him...'_

Just a few minutes later he passed out from the pain again.

'_When is this going to stop?'_

* * *

Pein silently listened to the voices, coming from above.

Three days passed. They were gathering. The ring above them was filled with dogs barking. He bowed his head.

It was over. They still couldn't get out, and Madara still had Naruto in his hands. It was no question, that he's going to chose him this time. Not Thunder, not Lightning. Naruto. He'll be forced to fight a life-and-death struggle, and it only depended on the dog Naruto's going to get assigned wether he lives or dies.

Konan leaned her head on his shoulder.

"It's that day already, isn't it..."

"Yeah..."

They stood there in silence for a while.

"You think he's going to let us go and give us Naruto back, when all this is over?"

"I'm pretty sure he won't Konan. Probably he'll just leave us here to wait and hope someone finds us before we die from hunger. As for Naruto... he's definately not giving him back. If he survives this, he's going to take him to another fight. If he survives the next one too, he'll take him to another one. It's like an unbreakable circle. He's never going to give Naruto back of his own free will."

Konan sighed.

"I can't stop thinking about him... you think he's okay?"

"No. He's far from okay. I know the cruelty of those dog fights, Konan. I'd rather die than simply let Madara drag him into this. It's so hopeless. They lock their dogs into small cages, they beat them up, they insult them... it's all just about money, Konan. Like Madara said, it's the only thing he wants. He doesn't care about Naruto, for his well-being... if he teaches him cruelty like he said he would, Naruto might never come back. Most of the dogs don't. They remain agressive, they just hate everything around them. Human, animal, it doesn't matter. They'd tear anything to pieces, and if Madara trained Naruto through kicks and blows... and I'm pretty sure that's _exactly_ the way he trained him... then there's about ninety-eight percent chances, that Naruto is going to attack me, when he sees me. And if he does..."

"What are you going to do, if it really happens?"

"I don't know. There's nothing I can do, if that really happens. Only thing I can offer him is patience, love and trust. If those can't bring him back, he'll never be Naruto again. He'll always be Flash. Just Flash."

Konan wrapped her arms around him.

"Naruto still knows, who you are, Pein. He loves you, that's the one thing that won't change. Even Madara can't tear that bond apart. He can take him away, he can tear him from your arms, but Naruto isn't going to forget that it was you, who took care of him when he was sick and injured. He won't forget that it was your arms that picked him up from the pavement that night. He knows who was the one who brought back his life force. He's still _your_ Naruto, Pein. He'll never belong to anyone else."

Pein's eyes remained emotionless.

"Do you really believe that? I don't. You really don't know what these things can do to a dog, do you Konan... insults, treading down, pain... these are capable of taking all the good memories away. When Naruto sees me again, I doubt he'll remember me. Let alone remember the good times we spend together. He'll only have hatred left, even though if this hatred is without a reason. He'll hate me just because, he'll hate me for standing there and breathing. But that doesn't mean I won't fight for him. You're right about one thing. He's still _my_ Naruto. If I don't fight for him, who will?"

Pein's head lifted towards the ceiling. Yelling, cheering, growling and barking announced the beginning of the fight. He stood there, bitting his lower lip. A few minutes later everything quieted down. No growling, no cheers.

Someone has just defeated a dog, against all odds.

* * *

Naruto growled. He lowered his ears. He defeated four huge mutts in a row. He only had finals left. Just one more fight, and damn Madara can get his damn money, that's going to pay off all of his damn wounds and pain.

He growled at the little mutt, that wandered somewhere close. That one was a sore loser, and Naruto hated him. He really wanted to tear him apart, and he probably would, if the chain wouldn't keep him next to Madara.

"Bets?"

"I'm betting a thousand bucks on Flash."

Madara grinned. They were all betting on the fox. Who wouldn't? He wasn't even a real dog, yet he defeated four huge mutts in a row.

"Hey, Madara, would you sell him?"

"Where the hell did you find this kid, he's awesome."

"Was he always that talented?"

Naruto growled. The noise was only irritating him more. To Madara, this was just perfect. Naruto had to defeat that dog, even if it is the last thing he does.

A huge wolfhound was brought to the arena. Naruto barked and rushed towards him, but the chain pulled him back and flipped him on his back. He growled at his enemy and the wolfhound growled back.

"Everyone ready?"

Madara pulled Naruto back, caught his collar and took off the chain.

"Win this for me, and you don't have to fight until the next tournament."

Naruto showed his teeth.

"Start!"

Both owners let go of their collars and both, the dog and the hybrid carged. Naruto was the one who struck first. He bit the hound hard, and jumped away when the wolfhound tried to bite him. The dog's eyes remained stuck to Naruto, when he slowly backed away to the border of the ring and started circling around the dog. His ears were swirling back and fourth when he was listening to the voices.

They were rooting for him. He was the star of this evening. But the name wasn't right. Why the hell were they calling him Flash?

He growled. Maybe it was always his real name. Maybe he never really was Naruto. Maybe he was _always_ Flash.

He charged towards the hound again. The dog bit, and Naruto was forced to back away again. This time the wolfhound wouldn't wait for him to return to the fence. He tackled him, and they both rolled over the ground. A minute or two later, when the dust cleared, Naruto limped heavily towards the edge of the ring. He weakly barked and dragged his left leg behind him. The hound's jaws managed to break his bones. The cheering stopped.

Naruto's heart started beating faster.

He finaly realised, what a wound like that means.

No ability to jump and attack. No chance of running.

Death.

He's going to die.

He's going to die in a stupid arena, for a stupid money that stupid owner isn't going to get. Was it really worth it?

The dog attacked again and Naruto bowed his head. The wolfhound showed no mercy and pinned Naruto to the ground. Naruto leaned his head back and exposed his throat.

'_Bite. I'm powerless. I won't fight back.' _

The dog growled.

'_Come on, do me this favor... end this torcher...'_

Sharp teeth touched his throat.

'_Hurry up... we don't have all day...'_

"It's the police!"

Someone tried to pull the wolfhound away from motionless fox. They were all leaving. The hound bit harder and pulled Naruto behind him a meter across the ground.

"Let him go, Fang."

The dog growled.

"I told you to let go!"

The hold on Naruto's throat let go and Naruto remained lying in the middle of the ring. Footsteps were echoing all around him. They were all trying to get out. Suddenly his ears twitched. Someone stopped. Soon, everything turned quiet. Naruto's eyes opened. Madara was still standing there with a gun in his hand.

* * *

Pein was listening to the voices, cheering his little fox on. About half of minute later everything turned quiet. Then there was just one single scream.

"It's the police!"

Feet bumping against the ground.

He kept listening.

He knew what happened right there. He barely realised tears running down his cheeks.

At the sudden sound of gun shot both, Konan and Pein flinched.

Pein shivered. He collapsed, sobbed and burried his face in his hands. It was all clear.

Naruto lost his last fight. He survived due to the sudden arrival of the police. And Madara made sure Naruto paid his loss with his life.

Konan's hands were still shivering when she pulled him in her embrace. Tears were slipping down her cheeks too.

There was nothing they could do. It was over.

* * *

Iruka kneeled down next to the little hybrid and gently laid his hand on his cheek. Fox's ears twitched.

"Hey, Kakashi-senpai! This one's still alive. But what is he anyway? He's not a dog, but I'm pretty sure he isn't human either."

Kakashi walked to Iruka. He kicked Madara's body away on his path. He loved dogs. And guys like him were just using them to gain money through their pain and suffering. He despised them. He kneeled down next to Iruka and gently lifted hybrid's head in his lap.

"It's a good thing I shot when I did. He was really intending to kill him, he flinched when he shot. He was aiming for his head, but that shot merely grazed his shoulder."

Kakashi was gently stroking unconscious fox's body.

"It's still dangerous though. If he was at his full power, he'd only need care. The fact that he's this weak could easily make that shot just as dangerous as any other well aimed shot. I don't know if he's going to make it."

"What are we going to do? I mean he's not even a dog, can we even take him in as animal police?"

"Yeah. We can."

Kakashi stood up.

"He's not a human nor animal. He's a hybrid. Incredibly loyal and rare creatures. Live much longer than their animal form. Also capable of human thoughts and inteligence. This one was only unlucky to end up with an owner, who didn't care about his loyalty. The good side here is that hybrids always keep the behavior of an animal they represent. So that makes him a fox. And for crying out loud, he's just a little fox... he's not even fully grown yet."

Naruto's eyes slowly opened. Kakashi slowly reached his hand, to stroke the fox's head. Naruto growled, curled into a ball and moved away. Humans. He hated humans. These two were nothing more. If he was strong enough, he might have bitten them both. At his current condition he could just weakly growl and lean his head back to the ground.

"I'll get him into the van, okay? You look around, just in case if you can find any other dogs those idiots left behind."

Kakashi lifted the hybrid in his arms and carried him outside. Iruka's eyes sowly scanned the place. It didn't look like there were any cages, there was no sound of dogs barking. He shrugged and slowly walked towrds the exit. Half the way towards the door, something creaked under his feet. Iruka looked down. Wooden planks? He pushed the sand away with his foot. There really were wooden planks.

He called for Kakashi, and together they managed to open the hidden door. They walked down the stairs. It seemed like the building still had a hidden basement. When they reached the bottom, they heard a weak silent whisper.

"Help us... if you're not one of them, then help us, please..."

Iruka narrowed his eyes. He still couldn't see much due to the dark place.

"We're from animal police."

Their eyes soon got used to the darkness, and they both just stared for a while. A cell, with a girl and a boy around the age of eighteen locked in it. Also there was a hybrid bunny girl hiding behind the blue-haired girl's back. Kakashi narrowed his eyes. Something was clearly wrong. The boy's eyes seemed completely broken and emotionless.

"Wait there, we'll get you out, I promise."

Together Kakashi and Iruka managed to break the lock and open the door. The boy still didn't move a muscle. He was still sitting on the ground and stared somewhere past them.

"Pein, come on... they came to get us out, let's go... it's gonna be okay..."

The boy merely shook his head and broke down.

"Hey, easy. What's going on, what happened?"

Kakashi gently laid his hand on Pein's shoulder, to calm him down.

"my little Naruto...they dragged him into these damn dog fights... he's gone now, he shot him..."

"Who's Naruto?"

"He was my little fox... my little hybrid..."

Kakashi turned his eyes to Iruka. So that guy wasn't just one of those who entered illegal dog fights? He had also stolen that little hybrid and taken two kids as a hostage? This time they really were dealing with a real criminal.

Kakashi slowly got up, wrapped his arm around Pein's waist and pulled him on his feet.

"Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to go to the police station with us, kid... you can come too, if you want to."

Kakashi turned back to Konan.

"She had nothing to do with this... I had nothing to do with this... we never cooperated with them in any way..."

"I know, kiddo. I know. I could see it in your eyes the first time I looked at you. None of them carried as much pain as you. And as far as I'm concerned, whoever feels like you do can't possibly be a part of a crime as cruel as this."

Kakashi slowly led him to the van.

"Listen... I got bad and good news for you. The good news is, that your fox hybrid is still alive. That shot you heard was probably mine. When I shot the guy he flinched and missed. His shot only grazed your fox. The bad news is, he's in a really bad shape. We don't know wether he'll pull through or not."

"I want to see him."

Kakashi sighed.

"Are you... sure?"

"Completely. I _have_ to see him."

Kakashi opened the back door of the van. Naruto was still unconscious. He curled into a ball on a pillow. Pein took a deep breath and climbed into the van and kneeled down next to the little hybrid. He could clearly see deep wounds and scars covering his body. He couldn't miss whip marks either. He gently pulled the fox in his lap, and let his tears fall on the boy's head.

"Naruto..."

Kakashi leaned onto the van and closed the back door. Pein ignored the sound of the door closing. He trusted Kakashi.

"What has he done to you..."

* * *

'Rehabilitation center'

Two red words were blinking above the door. They had taken Naruto inside hours ago.

Pein was just sitting in the hallway, leaning his head on his knees and waiting. He cried until he had no tears left. Konan was sitting next to him with Hinata in her lap. She gently stroked his hair from time to time.

After three hours of unbearable waiting, the door opened and Kakashi walked out of the room with a serious expression on his face. Pein jumped to his feet.

"Is he..."

"Don't panic. He's stabilized."

Kakashi laid his hand on Pein's shoulder.

"He'll be okay. At least his physical state will."

"What do you mean?"

"We can cure his wounds, and even if Danzo won't let us keep him in here, I'll take him home and give him a proper care. What I'm worried about is his psychological state. Naruto might never be the same again..."

"But... but we can still make him trust me, right? I mean... we can still fix that?"

Kakashi sighed.

"Have you... ever painted anything Pein?"

"Yeah... when I was still little, why?"

"So did you mix colors together too?"

"Yeah."

"Okay... so do you remember what did you do, when the color was too bright, and you wanted to have a darker one?"

"I added black, what else? So why are you asking me this?"

Kakashi sighed.

"And have you ever accidently added too much black? What happened then? The color changed to black, didn't it?"

"Yeah..."

Pein could feel his heart bumping faster. Somehow he knew, what Kakashi was trying to tell him.

"You see, Pein... let's think about Naruto's psyche as a color. When he first met you, his psyche didn't have any specific colors. You could easily either change his psyche to black, or to rainbow. You taught him everything, you gave him happiness, you taught him sorrow and been with him through it, you taught him to feel fear and trust... you managed to color his psyche in a nice rainbow colors. He experienced a lot with you. Without a doubt, he loved you then. What Madara did was unforgivable. He kept adding more pain, more black color to his psyche. Little by little, Naruto's rainbow psyche faded away. It was replaced by black. Hatred. Sorrow. Pain. You see, life is a lot like painting. It only needs a little bit of black, to get the color you want it to have. If you're not careful enough, if you only add one drop of black too much, and you can make its beauty fade away easily. That's exactly what Madara did. Only in this case, he kept adding more and more black, even though he knew that no good can come out of it. And the more black there is, the harder it is to fix it. You'll need a lot of rainbow colors, Pein. Only then, you can maybe bring Naruto back to what he used to be. And even so, he still might keep some of this hatred in him. So, do you think you can make it?"

"I'll do my best. I'll never give up."

"I like your way of thinking, Pein. You're a good kid."

Kakashi walked away and left Pein and Konan alone. Konan gently squeezed Pein's hand.

"It'll be okay..."

"I hope so..."

Pein lifted his head and stared into the bright words blinking above the door.

'Rehabilitation center'

* * *

Naruto had to be locked in a confinement cell.

A week passed, since he woke up. True enough, he was back on his feet, but it was nothing to be happy about. He growled at anything that moved. If it came too close, he bit. Pein couldn't stand to see him like this. His blue eyes had changed. They were wild, filled with hatred.

Eyes of a fighting dog.

Kakashi wouldn't let Pein try to reason with Naruto for his own safety. He was worried that Naruto might attack him any minute. The worst case scenario could even end up with Pein's death. This way, Pein could only watch the fox from behind the glass. From inside, Naruto couldn't see him. Sometimes he was just lying in the corner and hatefully stared somewhere far away. Sometimes he was growling at nothing. Sometimes he was circling around, as far as the rope let him, as if he was expecting a dog to attack.

Pein barely moved away from that window. Days passed, but Naruto's state didn't seem to get any better. Two weeks later, Pein decided he couldn't stand it anymore. He walked over to Kakashi.

"I want to try."

"Don't be stupid, Pein, he'll tear you apart."

"Let him try. Even if he does, I won't give up until I die. Just let me in."

Konan slowly walked to the window and laid her hand on a dark dim glass. She silently watched the fox.

"Pein please... don't do this. He's not Naruto anymore. He's Flash. Just Flash... I heard doctors talking... if he comes to a point, when he's capable of hurting or killing a human, they'll put him to sleep. He's suffering too much..."

Pein turned back to Kakashi.

"And what? You'll just let them do it?"

Kakashi shrugged.

"I told them that I object, but there's nothing I can do. Danzo's the leader here, and he was the one to decide. He said he is going to give him three more weeks. If his current state doesn't get any better by then... he'll put him to sleep. If he attacks a human, he'll do it even sooner."

Pein turned back to the black door.

"Open the door, Kakashi. I'm going there."

"Pein..."

"Just open the door, dammit!"

Kakashi sighed and unlocked the door.

"You should know that his room is secured. As soon as Danzo finds out he'll get down here and kick both of our butts. So make it quick."

Kakashi was telling the truth. Even at his age, Danzo only needed half a minute to get down the stairs.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Pein wants to try."

"Are you crazy? He'll tear him apart, limb by limb! That thing is a mere killing machine, he'll destroy him."

"He's still _my_ fox."

Pein clenched his fists.

"He still belongs to _me_, not you. I won't ever let you kill him. I won't ever forgive you, if you do. Before you jump to any conclusion, I want to try."

Danzo grimaced.

"You're an idiot, but you're a determined idiot. Just know that I'm not taking any responsibility for what happens in there."

"Be careful, Pein..."

"Good luck, kiddo. You'll need it."

Pein muttered a silent 'thank you' and walked through the door. As soon as he heard footsteps Naruto's ears lifted and he growled. He charged towards Pein, but the rope pulled him back.

"Easy, pal, easy... It's okay. I won't hurt you, I promise."

Pein slowly walked closer. Naruto's ears flattened to his head and he growled louder, when Pein passed the invisible line, drawn in a circle around him. Naruto slowly backed away, but he didn't stop growling.

"Don't be afraid, you'll be fine..."

Pein moved a step closer. Naruto showed his teeth. Without any sudden movements, Pein slowly reached his hand.

Naruto barked and bit. His teeth sank into Pein's wrist. Pein flinched, but he didn't try to pull his hand away. Naruto growled and bit harder. Pein's eyes closed tight. He could feel blood drops slowly slipping down his fingers and falling to the floor.

"I can't stand this anymore..."

Kakashi opened the door, and rushed to Pein, who was already brought to the ground. Naruto kept growling and sinking his teeth into his wrist. Dammit, this boy was annoying.

'_Why won't you fight back?__ Shake me off, hit me, kick me, just do something already.' _

He hated enemies that didn't want to fight back.

'_What the hell's wrong with you...'_

He growled. It had to hurt, he was bleeding.

All of the sudden Naruto felt a warm drop of water landing on his nose and slipping down his cheek.

Was the boy crying?

Then it had to hurt.

Someone tried to pull him away, but Naruto was far from finished. He didn't intend to let go of Pein's wrist anytime soon.

"Come on, just let go, dammit!"

Danzo lifted his hand to hit, but Kakashi managed to stop him, before he had done anything stupid. Hurting the fox now would only result in him hurting Pein more. He laid his hands on Naruto's jaws and carefully tried to separate them. Naruto shook his head and ignored the other two. He remained focused to the boy in front of him. That boy, who dared to take a step too close. He started into his violet eyes. They were filled with pain, begging him to let go.

But he didn't want to let go.

Pein wasn't crying or screaming in pain. Naruto's hatred-filled eyes hurt him twice as much as the wound Naruto's teeth were causing. He barely felt any physical pain. It meant nothing, absolutely nothing.

Kakashi finaly managed to pull Naruto away from him, and Pein's blood covered hand fell on his knees.

"That's it, I've had enough!"

Danzo grabbed the rope and pulled the little fox hybrid away.

"I'm going to put him to sleep, and that's final!"

Kakashi pulled Pein in his lap.

"Show me your hand, boy..."

Pein didn't move.

"Come on, show me your hand..."

Kakashi carefully took Pein's right hand in his own to see the damage. Bite mark on Pein's hand was deeper than he thought.

"They'll kill him, won't they..."

"Yeah."

Kakashi pulled Pein closer.

"They'll kill him. I'm sorry..."

Pein merely leaned his head on Kakashi's shoulder. His hand hurt more than he thought. Yet the pain in his chest was twice as painful.

He silently muttered a melody. It was one of those songs he used to sing when he was still a little kid. The melody was calming, sometimes he sang it to Naruto, when the little fox was afraid at night.

The first time he sang it to him was the time, when he picked him up and carried him into his apartment. The first time they've met.

Naruto's ears twitched and he turned his head back. He knew this song. Where... when...

"Keep walking!"

The rope pulled his collar, and Naruto started following Danzo again. He only made three or four steps, and stopped again.

His ears started swirling back and forth. He was restless. The pictures of the past started to come back to him and he silently squealed.

"_I love you, my little Naruto..."_

"_I love you..."_

Naruto stopped and pulled back.

"Don't event hink about it. I'm not letting you back, no matter how much you want to."

Naruto growled at the man holding the other end of the rope. He bit and pulled. A few moments later the rope snapped. Naruto turned around and raced towards the other side of the hallway.

"Someone stop him, dammit!"

Danzo followed him. Naruto turned his head back. He had to reach Pein, before Danzo catches him. He had to tell him that he still knows. That he remembers.

Pein was still sitting next to the wall, leaning on Kakashi's shoulder, when Naruto dashed through the door and stopped right next to them. The little hybrid gently bit Pein's right hand, just like he did before. Really gently. He didn't want to cause him any more pain. His sad blue eyes met with Pein's violet. He silently squealed.

'_Forgive me, please...'_

He let go of Pein's hand and gently licked the deep wound on his wrist.

'_Please... please, forgive me...'_

Pein slowly lifted his left hand and gently laid it on top of Naruto's head.

"I love you, my little Naruto..."

Naruto kept gently licking Pein's wound. He kept squealing and lowering his ears.

* * *

-Five years later-

"Come on, Naruto, we're going out."

Naruto's ears lifted, and he squealed. Pein smiled.

"Yeah, ofcourse we're waiting for Hinata and Konan."

The fox stuck his toung out and gave him a wide smile. He raced all over the room. Pein shook his head. He had to laugh. He caught Naruto's collar and cuddled him. Naruto playfully growled and tugged on Pein's sleeve.

"We're ready, Pein..."

Konan walked out of the room in her beautiful blue dress. She walked over to Pein and gently kissed him.

"I love you, sweetheart..."

Pein smiled.

"I know. You know I love you too, right?"

Naruto grimaced and turned his back on them.

"Hey, something you wanna say, you troublemaker?"

Pein laughed and pulled him close. Soon all four of them were sitting in their garden again, just like they used to. Konan and Pein were lying in the grass and watching the clouds, and meanwhile Naruto and Hinata were playing together.

Everything was just as it was always supposed to be.

_**THE END**_

_**A.N.:**_ Well... it's done. It took me more time than I thought, but finaly story is on. Hope you enjoyed it, and hopefully I'll write more PeinNaru's. Cause they're cute. And cuddly. And I still think of writing/drawing more NekoNaru stories/pics, but I just need some ideas. So no NaruNeko stories for a while.


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